We all know what's transpired in the EU region....Foch made a video, severely criticizing Wargaming for their release of more and more premium tanks while, in his opinion, not fixing the game's already existing problems. This caused the EU Wargaming to sever most, if not all, of their ties with SirFoch for what was called by one WG Staff member as a 'slanderous' video. Circon just about got the axe as well, but his rant was not premeditated.....he was playing on Highway in the KV-122 (<----I know just how much that combination sucks........) and he began ranting as a result of frustration. However, he did apologize and removed the video, and he still has his CC status. Foch removed his as well, but since his rant was 'premeditated', according to Wargaming, it was a far more serious offense. So he lost his CC status.

This action led to our favorite, now VERY unhappy, gnome overlord, Mighty Jingles, getting into the fray as well. On Facebook, he has demanded that Wargaming give some sort of statement about this incident.....and that his continued support as a CC hinges on their response. He believes that WG used a false copyright strike to force Foch and Circon to remove their videos. If these copyright strikes were used, via the DMCA system, then Jingles is demanding a formal apology and the promise that Wargaming will never abuse or misuse the DMCA system ever again.

So, as all of this madness is unleashed across the pond.....here is what I think is the reason why Wargaming did what they did.

Let's be honest.....they have been taking crap from EVERYONE this past year. All of us, in some form or other, have been criticizing or insulting Wargaming (myself included, unfortunately.......) for doing the wrong things and ignoring what is actually wrong. And it was, as I was reading a book that I have to study for being an effective Manager at McDonald's that I realized what we had done. We've put Wargaming on edge. All this past year, they have changed MM (requested by the players), re-worked/nerfed artillery (MAJORLY requested by players), added in Tier 10 LTs (also requested....and yes, they did nerf them...I know....), and rebalanced some of the more OP light tanks as well, along with buffing tanks that really needed help. And what have we done?

We've ******* and moaned about it, complaining that they did it all wrong and that they need to redo it. So all Wargaming employees who've put in long hours at the office, fulfilling their promises to the players, giving up time with their families.....are simply met with a wall of flames and hate for doing what the community wanted them to do. So when one of their CCs started ranting, flaming, and criticizing Wargaming.....they understandably took offense. It could simply be they overreacted by axing Foch in a single stroke. My bet is the good people over at WoT EU were simply fed up and irritated, and they just acted out of emotions and anger. And now, nearly every important Community Contributor over in Europe is getting extremely upset.....QuickyBaby being exempt...he still hasn't said anything (he is probably wisely keeping his mouth shut until this all blows over).

I've simply decided that I'm going to step back and let Wargaming do what they want to do. It's time to give them some space. Every CC on the NA server still seems pretty content with what's going on, so WGNA is doing something right that the people across the pond still can't grasp.

WGNA, you will continue to have my support until the day the moon falls into the sea. You guys have done an outstanding job, against all the odds. Heh, and it only took a McDonald's Manager Training book to realize exactly what you guys are going through. There's my couple bits......

OP, do you realize WG is a company and not an actual person, right? A company does not get put on edge. A company is SUPPOSED to deal with criticism, especially VALID criticism of their products. And again, the issue was not the CC status removal or the tank itself. It is Wargaming and they need to fix this or there WILL be an exodus of players. Mark my words.

OP, do you realize WG is a company and not an actual person, right? A company does not get put on edge. A company is SUPPOSED to deal with criticism, especially VALID criticism of their products. And again, the issue was not the CC status removal or the tank itself. It is Wargaming and they need to fix this or there WILL be an exodus of players. Mark my words.

what will happen is that foch lose his CC,the phlan guy get smacked by WG for saying crap without consulting the higher ups and the chrysler remain chrysler.

OP, do you realize WG is a company and not an actual person, right? A company does not get put on edge. A company is SUPPOSED to deal with criticism, especially VALID criticism of their products. And again, the issue was not the CC status removal or the tank itself. It is Wargaming and they need to fix this or there WILL be an exodus of players. Mark my words.

You are correct but, the people who work there are human and have feelings, is what the OP is getting at here.

I see what you are saying with WG trying to fix certain major issues with the game. However, what sirfoch was ranting about was not one of these issues that they tried to fix....In fact, it's a relatively new issue that's getting worse and worse and WG has shown no indication of stopping. WG has been flooding tier 8 with overpowered premium tanks, and each new premium is one of the best premiums in the game. How can a T32 compete against a T26E5 or Chrysler K? There's no doubt that these premiums simply outclass their tier 8 counterpart.

OP, do you realize WG is a company and not an actual person, right? A company does not get put on edge. A company is SUPPOSED to deal with criticism, especially VALID criticism of their products. And again, the issue was not the CC status removal or the tank itself. It is Wargaming and they need to fix this or there WILL be an exodus of players. Mark my words.

Pretty much all this. I understand the OP's opinion but if employees high up in WG are being "upset" and are acting too wildly on the pressure, taking down people's YouTube videos because they fear the consequences... honestly WG's behavior isn't any better than SirFoch's or Circon's.

HOTA_CHATON, on May 19 2017 - 18:21, said:

You are correct but, the people who work there are human and have feelings, is what the OP is getting at here.

True, but when you're working in the Games industry and working with a game that caters to hundreds of thousands of players, you can't have a soft heart. You need to know people and understand them, and you need to not act on emotion and act out of haste, which is clearly what has happened here.

What I am hoping is this: That War Gaming will finally realize they need to sit down and take stock of this game and all their other titles. Then they need to set about fixing what really needs to be fixed and not keep feeding the masses, of players and faithful followers, this pabulum that keeps them distracted from what is really going on. In other words, just fix the game before adding more content. That's what I want to see come out of this.

What I am hoping is this: That War Gaming will finally realize they need to sit down and take stock of this game and all their other titles. Then they need to set about fixing what really needs to be fixed and not keep feeding the masses, of players and faithful followers, this pabulum that keeps them distracted from what is really going on. In other words, just fix the game before adding more content. That's what I want to see come out of this.

There is a place for constructive criticism but all out emotional bashing is not conducive to solving issues. On the other hand a heavy handed response to outbursts like on YouTube is a really punitive countermeasure that wins Wargaming no allies, no one likes the Orwellian attitude of censorship or killing dissenting voices.

I see what you are saying with WG trying to fix certain major issues with the game. However, what sirfoch was ranting about was not one of these issues that they tried to fix....In fact, it's a relatively new issue that's getting worse and worse and WG has shown no indication of stopping. WG has been flooding tier 8 with overpowered premium tanks, and each new premium is one of the best premiums in the game. How can a T32 compete against a T26E5 or Chrysler K? There's no doubt that these premiums simply outclass their tier 8 counterpart.

I really haven't seen any OP premiums, in this game, except the Type 59 and that is why they refuse to sell it again. It was so OP, that it was not until you reached the T29 or IS that you had any hope of out gunning it

WG threatened to make a false copyright strike... just a couple of those and Foch could never post videos on YT ever again... and you're ok with that?

Like I said, they're probably just really upset and they went about handling it the wrong way. I said that in my original post.

You act like that's a trivial matter, but it's not, it's a major deal. If they really did threaten a copyright strike it's not good enough to merely say that they handled it wrong, they would need to make a formal apology and restore anyone's status that was affected by this.

The wealthy and powerful (in this case Wargaming) do not need you to defend them, they can already defend themselves, it's important that people remember that it is the underdog that needs defending, and in this case the underdog is Foch. They have the right to control who is a CC and who is not, they do not have the right to threaten a copyright strike just because they don't like the content.

OP, do you realize WG is a company and not an actual person, right? A company does not get put on edge. A company is SUPPOSED to deal with criticism, especially VALID criticism of their products. And again, the issue was not the CC status removal or the tank itself. It is Wargaming and they need to fix this or there WILL be an exodus of players. Mark my words.

There will be no exodus, as most don't care. The forum hissyfitters are the ones that get upset.

Its going mainstream now and it won't be long before it gets the attention of the wider online gaming community...

I don't think this will go the way you expect it to. There are enough people that don't care (like me), that don't have the time to be on the forum all day complaining about WG. This will be forgotten as soon as the next case of player malcontent strikes.